The New Squidbeak Splatoon
by ML760
Summary: [Multiple interconnected stories] The New Squidbeak Splatoon now includes 8 total members. Watch as these squids (and octos) balance their daily lives with the burden of protecting Inkopolis!
1. Agent Three's Missing - I

_THUMP. THUMP. THUMP._

Agent 8 jumped as she rushed to the door, dropping her new phone in the process. The octoling was residing with Pearl and Marina for the time, as she had just recently escaped the Deepsea Metro, and was struggling to integrate into Inkling society. She had been given the guest room in their house to make her own. Eight kneeled down and grabbed the device, and made her way to the door.

Agent 4 sat at the other side of the door, brushing her two front tentacles to the side. She had a look of worry and concern on her pale face.

"Oh, hello Four! It is a nice day tod—"

"EIGHT! This is an emergency!" Agent 4 shouted, causing the unsuspecting Octoling to recoil in surprise.

"What is going on here?" Another voice joined in. Marina, wearing her casual DJ outfit, walked right behind Eight.

"Oh, hey Four," she greeted, "What's going on?"

"It's Agent 3! She-she's missing!" Four yelled, stammering on her words. Both Marina and Eight's eyes opened wide in shock.

"Gone?!" Agent 8 gasped. Marina moved to the side and let Four enter her home. The DJ Octoling turned to the yellow-tentacled Inkling: "What do you mean, gone? What happened?"

The agent began to count on her fingers, "Well... I invited her to play turf wars yesterday, and she didn't show up at all!" Marina raised an eyebrow.

"Hold on, you think she's missing just 'cuz she didn't go to your turf war?" she asked, suspicion in her voice. Four shook her head.

"She'd never miss a turf war. Especially if she, ugh..." Agent 4 sighed, "...had the chance to, _possibly_, beat me."

Eight decided it was her turn to enter the conversation: "Why do we not visit her home? Then we can simply find out her position." Four blinked at her form of speech. She was going to have to teach her the modern way of speaking, eventually.

"Well, I uh," Marina started, rubbing one of her tentacles, "I have no clue where she lives. But Four must know, right Four?" Four looked just as confused as Marina did, however.

"Three never told me where she lives. In fact, she never told me much about her at all! I don't even know her own name." Four recalled how private she was with her personal life. On several occasions she'd ask her for details only to be constantly denied. What was she hiding?

"How strange. Inklings hide information from their own friends." Eight thought aloud. She was finding Inkling society very difficult to integrate herself into.

"Hold on, Eight. I guess Agent 3 is just really secretive, is all." Marina supposed Three was just following their whole 'hidden identity' thing, even if it was over-excessive. "Do you know anyone who could possibly have a clue where she lives?"

Four twirled a tentacle and replied, "Hmm... someone who's known Three for several years..." Suddenly, a thought popped into her head. "Aha! The Squid Sis- I mean Agents 1 and 2!"

"You don't have to call them by their agent names, we're the only ones here. And Pearl's snoring upstairs." Marina explained.

"OOOHhhh! I never got a chance to meet them!" Eight gleefully exclaimed, pressing her hands on her face, "Can we meet them? Please!" She begged Four, putting on her best puppy-eyes while jumping up and down. Marina simply laughed.

"Uh sure, but we should call them first," Four stated, whipping out her squid phone.

"I'll go tell Pearlie what's going on, you two go find the Squid Sisters," Marina added. She turned and walked towards the staircase on the far side of her living room. Agent 4 tapped on the contact for Marie on her phone and held it next to her head.

"Bye Marina!" Eight cheerfully waved, and Marina waved back. The dial tone rang for a bit before being picked up.

"_Hey Four, what's up?"_ Marie's voice asked, from the other side of the phone. Eight was about to shout something, but Four quickly shushed her.

"Okay, so uh, Marie, I have something urgent to ask you."

_"Lay it on me._"

"Do you know where Agent 3 lives?"

There was a short pause. _"Well, uh... I might have it somewhere. Why?"_

"I can't find her anywhere; I think she's gone missing! Like, for real!"

"_Hmm... this could potentially be bad. Alright, meet me at Cuttlefish Cabin in Octo Canyon. We'll figure this out there." _

"Okay, thanks Marie." Four shut her phone and put it in her pocket. She opened the front door and motioned Eight. "C'mon, let's go!"

The two agents dashed outside and headed towards the manhole sitting in Inkopolis Square. Agent 8 had actually never been to Octo Canyon, as the kettles were one-way only. She hoped Three was doing ok.

Four jumped and transformed into a squid midair, falling inside of the grate. Eight looked at the manhole for a few seconds, not entirely sure of its safety. She shook her head and trusted Four's judgement, hopping into the grate.

Exiting the manhole, Eight took a moment to scan her surroundings. She was on what appeared to be a floating island, or really tall overlook. Ahead of her lay the Cuttlefish Cabin, or she presumed, and several rock formations and banners. She saw Four just ahead, making her way towards the cabin. Eight gasped when she saw both Callie and Marie sitting next to the building, each in their disguised outfits. Marie had her cap and medical mask while Callie was wearing sunglasses and a magenta beanie.

"Yo, Callie Marie!" Four greeted. The two agents waved, then raised an eyebrow at the Octoling behind Four.

"Is that a friend of yours?" Callie asked.

"Oh! Callie and Marie, this Agent 8. Eight, this is Callie and Marie, or agents 1 and 2." Their confusion turned into a smile.

"Ah, Agent 8. Gramps told us about you, nice to finally meet you in person." Marie welcomed. But she wasn't expecting Eight to suddenly sprint up and throw herself into a hug with the two of them.

"Hu-?"

"THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!" she cheerfully exclaimed, squeezing both Squid Sisters. They were briefly confused until Four reminded them how _Calamari Inktation _had freed her from DJ Octavio's grasp, along with several other Octolings.

"I-It's no.. problem," Callie gasped. Eight finally let go but was still squealing to herself.

"Ahem... can we get back on topic?" Agent 4 sat down on one of the wooden chairs sprawled around the cabin.

"Yeah, you're right. So you were saying you wanted to find Agent 3's residence?" Callie asked. Four nodded her head.

"Yup. I invited her to a turf war match yesterday, but she never arrived."

"Three never misses turf war," Eight noted, recalling what Four had said previously.

"Yeah, that's right. So I thought if I went to her house I could find any reason why. But I have no clue where it is, and I believe you two probably have a better idea than I do." Four explained.

"Wow. I never thought you'd care so much for Three's wellbeing," Marie smirked. She was being sarcastic, of course, but it didn't stop Four's face from becoming flustered.

"S-shut up. She _IS _my friend, y'know."

"What makes you think we'd know where Three lives? She values her privacy." Callie questioned.

"Well, considering you have an 'Agent 4 Factopedia' of me, I thought you'd have one for her, too."

"Hey, Marie's responsible for that!"

"She has a good point though," Marie admitted. Callie shrugged, and entered the cabin.

"I'll dig around and see what I find."

Marie pulled out a notebook and flipped to a random page. She smiled and read: "According to the Agent 4 Factopedia, you've been splatted over 428 times by Agent 3!"

"..."

"And you've splatted her 12 times." Marie smirked and put the notebook away. Agent 4 stood in silence.

"Wow. Agent 3 is so strong!" Eight commented. A memory of Agent 3 attacking her quickly entered her mind. She silently winced for a second, but shoved that thought away. Three was her friend, not foe.

"It's impressive, actually. She did take down the entire Octarian Army singe-handedly." Marie said, complimenting the agent.

"Hey!" Agent 4 complained, "So did I!"

"Yeah, but you had much stronger weapons, and we had a bigger idea of what to expect. Three was stuck with that Heroshot for almost the entire thing."

"Grr.." Four grumbled. She sat down and stayed silent. Meanwhile, Eight had been taking mental notes of Inkling interactions. They loved to poke fun of each other, even if it was slightly rude. How strange Inklings were. Back at the domes, if any lowling troop insulted a superior they would get a slap to the face, or worse.

"Aha!" Callie exclaimed, jumping back outside. She was holding various pieces of paper, full of words and scribbles. "The Agent 3 Factopedia! Don't tell her I made this."

"Alright, let's head out now." Marie ordered. She jumped into the manhole leading back to Inkopolis Square. Callie, Four and Eight followed. Callie adjusted her disguise, so noone would recognize her. Eight thanked her luck for being able to follow the Squid Sisters. The idols were practically hailed by every Octoling who defected.

After walking for over fifteen minutes, Four realized they should have brought a car. Eight began to get a bit nervous. The neighborhood they were in became increasingly empty and scarier. Some stores had shattered windows, graffiti littered walls. A few shady inklings gave them suspicious looks.

"I never expected Three to live in a place like this." Callie admitted.

"Well, it's easier to hide from us if you live in a dump." Marie added.

"Reminds me of the domes, a bit..." Eight noticed.

"Oh! That reminds me, have you told Marina and Pearl about Three's disappearance?"

"I told Eight and Marina at their place. Marina said she'd tell Pearl," Four explained. Marie nodded her head. She scanned her surroundings, making sure no trouble was afoot. It seems they were relatively secure, for now.

"How come you two never came here before, even if you had her address all this time?" Four questioned.

"We wanted to respect Three's privacy." Callie answered. Four raised an eyebrow.

"Where does 'respecting privacy' fit in to the Agent 3 Factopedia?"

"Shut up..."

Callie stopped infront of a lowly apartment complex. It was about five stories high, and had nothing remarkable about it. It was colored white like marble, and it looked indifferent from the surrounding buildings. The four walked up a few steps to reach the third level. Standing infront of the door to Three's apartment, they stopped.

"This is it; Three's home." She rang the doorbell and knocked. For a solid minute, absolutely nothing happened. "Except we need a way in." Callie noted, trying the door and, as expected, it was locked.

"Maybe we can knock the door down?" Four suggested. Three pairs of eyes turned to her. She rubber a tentacle and sighed, "Kidding, of course..."

Eight looked down at the doormat, it had no text and was a simple brown color. She had seen a few of these but had no clue what it's purpose was. "What's this?" She pointed a finger at the doormat.

"Oh, that's a doormat. We keep them infront of doors so people don't get the house dirty. You rub your shoes on it before entering, ya know?" Callie responded. Marie had a light bulb pop into her head.

"Wait. Doormat! That's it!" She lifted up the doormat and, conveniently enough, a small yellow key lay below.

"Is breaking into people's homes not considered imprudent in Inkling society?" Eight questioned. Another odd part of Inkling culture.

"No no no.. that's still bad, but we're not breaking in, uh..." Callie stammered, unsure of what to say. Yes, they _were_ breaking in, but it was for Three's safety. Plus, as long as Three didn't find out they'd be fine.

"Yeah, right." Marie replied. Callie shot her a '_you're not helping'_ look.

Callie stuck the key into its frame and twisted it. The door unlocked with a simple click. For a less-than-safe neighborhood, Three sure made it easy to enter her home.

Callie took one step inside and gasped. The whole place was a bloody mess. There were pieces of clothes lazily thrown about. her trashcan was overflowing and hadn't been emptied in over a week. A half-eaten pizza was sitting on top of a microwave. There was also some Squid Sisters merch on the floor, such as a plushie of Callie. There was even a bra laying underneath a chair.

The room was messy, but the atmosphere didn't fare any better. The windows were shut and closed with blinds, causing barely any sunlight to enter. It had an overall gloomy vibe.

"How- how has Three been living here for the past several years?!" Four was taken back in total shock. She knew Three was pretty messy and didn't care too much about appearance and cleanliness but this was ridiculous!

"Do you think she's home? Like, asleep?" Callie wondered.

"We could check her bedroom, if the way in isn't blocked by trash, that is," Marie suggested while shrugging. She took a few steps and opened a door she presumed led to the bedroom. Marie hoped she wouldn't see what Three's bathroom was like.

Much like the living room, her bedroom wasn't any better. Her bed was undone and some sheets lay on the floor. The white pillow looked aged and felt extremely stiff and uncomfortable. Most prominently, however, was the cracked window on the left side of the room. Cracked is an understatement, the whole damn thing was broken. Glass shards lay on the floor and bed.

"Girls? You should see this."

"Oh my cod, did she jump out the window?" Callie gasped, poking her head out the broken frame.

"I think she was kidnapped!" Four suggested. Even though Three could be reckless, she usually had a plan or reason for rash actions. Plus, jumping out windows was her sort of thing, not Three's.

Something shiny caught Eight's attention through the corner of her eye. She knelt down and grabbed something brittle sitting underneath the edge of the bed. It was a blue object with a white logo on it. Bringing it closer to her head, Eight dropped it and gasped.

"Eight? What's wrong?" Callie asked, running over to the freaked-out Octoling.

"K-kam-a.." Eight couldn't say it. That small object had the Kamabo Corporation's logo on it. No mistake.

"What's this thing? Some kind of blue coin?" Marie grabbed the object and held it in her palm. It looked like a token of sorts. She couldn't figure out what the logo meant.

"I-it's the symbol of Kamabo! The one in the Deepsea Metro!" Eight's mind began racing. Memories of Commander Tartar nearly turning her and Captain Cuttlefish into mush inside a liquid filled her brain.

"We better head back to Octo Canyon. Four, call Marina and Pearl too." Marie commanded. Four nodded and pulled out her phone. Marie pocketed the token while Callie tried to calm down Eight.

Returning to Octo Canyon, nearly the entire New Squidbeak Splatoon was present. Marina and Pearl were unofficial members due to their assistance during the Deepsea Metro fiasco, and Agent 3 was obviously missing.

Captain Cuttlefish had been snoozing inside the cabin, but had been woken up by his granddaughters. Marie showed the Kamabo token to the rest of the splatoon.

"Ah, that's the logo from the subway me an' Eight were in!" Cuttlefish recalled.

"Yes, that belongs to Kamabo Corporation. I thought they disappeared after Eight defeated Commander Tartar." Marina confirmed.

"They must have come back then!" Pearl declared, "We should head down and beat their goopy asses again!"

"So let me get this straight. Kamabo somehow has survived, and someone, or _something_, kidnapped Agent 3. And we're going to go down there to rescue her?" Four questioned.

"That works for me!" Callie exclaimed, excitement in her voice.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. We can't just recklessly bust in there. We need a plan first." Marie added, trying to contain Callie's outburst.

"She's right, a battleplan is always needed!" Cuttlefish agreed, thinking back to his old days during the Great Turf War.

Marina pulled out her laptop from her bag and suggested: "Me and Pearlie can stay up here, and provide you guys support. I guess the Cap'n can stay too."

"I'll go save Three!" Four yelled, proudly puffing her chest out.

Marie didn't look impressed, "You can't go alone, me and Callie'll go with you."

"Eight, do you mind accompanying the three girls? You have the most knowledge of the metro after all." Captain Cuttlefish asked, placing a hand on the octoling's shoulder.

Eight recoiled a bit in surprise but tried regained her posture. "Yes, I will help rescue Agent 3." It was her responsibility, after all. Three had saved her back in the Metro. _And almost killed her, too._

"So it's settled, let's get geared up!" Callie sprung out of her seat and ran into the Cuttlefish Cabin, eager to put on her armor and weapon.

Marie pulled her Hero Charger off a rack, while Four grabbed the Hero Dualies she had brought with her. Eight equipped her Octoshot and switched into her Octo armor

Each agent put on their Hero suit and armor, while Pearl, Marina and the Cap'n set up their equipment. Getting to the Deepsea Metro was easy, as it was near Inkopolis Square. Fortunately, despite receiving odd stares, no one gave much thought to them as they trekked their way to the metro as stealthily as possible. With the sun beginning its descent in the horizon, people would be too tired to really care.


	2. Agent Three

Agent 8 stepped into the metro's main station. It was as abandoned and empty as when she was last her. Atleast the subway car seemed to be at the station. In stark contrast, it looked lively as ever, a faint tune echoing out of its speakers.

"_Come in, Agent 8! Can you read me?" _A voice crackled through her headset. It was Marina.

"Yes, Marina. Your transmission is fluid and clear." Eight replied, tapping her headset to talk back. The rest of the 'Attack Team', as Cuttlefish had named it, arrived behind Eight. Agents 1, 2, and 4 took a good look around at their surroundings.

"This place is eery. It could sure use a redecoration!" Callie assessed. She could picture it already. Pink and gleeful banners stretched across, loud and colorful lights. A fresh coat of paint would be nice too.

"Sure is strange how I've never heard of this place before," Marie commented. It wasn't too hidden either, and according to the Cap'n it had regular travelers too.

Agent 4 was preoccupied with a heap of scrap metal and broken shards ahead. "What the hell is this thing?" Four grabbed a small chunk of metal and analysed it.

_"That's the remains of the blender that almost chopped us up to bits!_" Cuttlefish explained. Eight winced again at the memory. She had truly thought it would be the end for her.

_"It was that stupid phone who tricked us into building it!" _Pearl added. She wished she could strangle that heap of junk one last time. Too bad it was destroyed by her awesome voice, oh well.

_"Yes, thank the gods Agent 3 arrived in the nick of time, and wiped the whole thing out!" _Cuttlefish chuckled. He was glad he'd picked Three when the Great Zapfish had been originally stolen.

"Let us enter the train now." Eight said, taking her eyes away from the broken 'thangs'. The subway car doors opened when she neared, and she immediately smiled at the sight of two friends.

"Ah, welcome back to the Deepsea Metro, Eight!" Her sea cucumber friend, C.Q Cumber, greeted. He stood infront of the doorway, then moved aside to allow her in. Iso Padre sat on one of the train chairs, and waved to her.

"I hope you've been following your destiny." Eight found the giant isopod to be extremely wise and kind.

"Woah, are these friends of yours, Eight?" Callie asked, stepping inside of the subway car.

"Welcome aboard, I am your conductor, C.Q Cumber. Please enjoy your ride here with us." He greeted each agent as they walked inside.

"Tell me, how was your journey to the 'promised land'?" Iso Padre asked the Octoling.

"It's been great so far! The food is amazing and everyone is just so kind!" She still coulsn't believe she had been able to escape and experience true freedom. She had struggled a ton, but it was worth the pain.

"Alright everyone, let's focus on the task. We need a lead on where to search for Agent 3,"Marie advised, "Any ideas?"

"_We know she was taken by Kamabo, due to that coin thing in her room you showed, but the trail grows cold here." _Marina lamented_._

_"Hey, wasn't Three, like, possessed last time she was captured?" _Pearl asked, racking her memory. It had slipped everyone's minds up until that point, save for Eight.

_"Oh cod, you're right. I hope this doesn't turn out the same again,"_ Marina worried. Callie and Marie were totally perplexed. They were about to ask when C.Q. Cumber interrupted them loudly.

"Excuse me for the interruption, but I believe I may be able to help," the sea cucumber paused briefly before continuing, "Hours before your arrival, one of the stations on the H line was reported to have a power outage. We can head there so you may investigate."

"Yes! We would love that, C.Q!" Eight smiled. He flapped the front of his body, as if nodding, and began moving away to begin the journey.

"We will arrive there shortly."

Four took a moment to observe the carriage adjacent to theirs. She noticed several of the denizens, and shuddered a little. They looked so strange compared to people on the surface. Part of her was glad they stayed so deep underground.

The train began to move, slowly speeding up as it navigated the subway.

"Okay, let me get something straight," Callie cleared her throat, "What happened to Agent Three last time, here?"

_"Well... she saved Captain Cuttlefish and Eight from being blended in a giant blender that the telephone Tartar had made. Then she got knocked out, and captured," _Marina explained,_ "Next time we saw her she—" _

Pearl interrupted Marina and shouted: "_Some gooey crap was on her head, and she attacked Eight!" _Both Callie and Marie were shocked by this.

"Attacked?!" Four shouted, surprised as well.

"The goop on her head could control her mind..." Eight informed. She remembered the battle against sanitized Three like it was yesterday.

That seemed to calm down the three, who knew Agent 3 wouldn't ever attack a fellow agent.

The subway car suddenly halted to a stop, and a small tune played.

"We've arrived at the station," C.Q. Cumber announced. The agents thanked him and stepped off the train. The sea cucumber promised the train'd be waiting for them on their way out.

The entire station, save for the subway cars itself, was covered in pitch black darkness. A few sparks occasionally emerged from some loose wires on the ceiling.

Marie pulled a flashlight out of her pocket, and shone its bright light into the darkness.

"_According to the blueprint schematic, there should be an entrance just ahead."_ Marina assessed. She hoped the schcematic was still accurate, as she had no idea how dated it was.

"Copy that," Marie repeated. She pulled her charger out and prepared her ink tank. The other agents followed suit.

Walking ahead, they realized that there was a narrow corridor leading ahead. Without any other options, they trekked forward.

"This feels like a trap," Agent 8 gulped. Callie put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry yourself. We're a team of four, we can handle anything. And besides! This is our only choice, eitherway." This helped the octoling relax a little bit, but she remained vigilant.

Four, who was leading the group, suddenly skid to a stop, causing the agents behind to bump into eachother.

"What's wrong, Four?" Callie questioned, trying to peek ahead.

"The path's... blocked," she explained. The rest of the hallway was completely covered in loose rubble. The low ceiling allowed no passage over it.

"We're stuck!" Four realized. The only possible way was to go back.

"Maybe there's a hidden gate," Eight suggested, remembering the high security at Kamabo Corporation, "We just have to look for it."

"_The schematics show that there's a ventilation duct newr you guys. Just start searching for a loose panel or something," _Marina ordered.

The group began to search and search. Minutes passed and still nothing.

Four had had enough of searching. "Ugh, I need a break," she groaned, flopping down on the floor. Her leg brushed aside a piece of the wall beside her.

"Four! I think you found it!" Callie exclaimed.

"Oh! Yeah, that was intentional! Definitely!" Four boasted. Marie could only chuckle and roll her eyes. Eight pulled the loose panel out and chucked it to the side.

_"I still don't understand... I thought Tartar was defeated? Why is everything repeating itself again?" _Marina couldn't understand it. They had definitely destroyed that telephone, and Eight had confirmed that the corporation was defunct.

Agent 8 took the lead as she was the first to crawl into the airduct. It was cramped and claustrophobic, but her tight-spaces training was going to pay off. Four went directly behind, with Callie behind her and Marie in the back.

"Great, now I have to look at Callie's butt for several minutes," Marie sighed. Callie turned around and they started another pointless argument.

"_The.. signal is *kshh* getting worse. We might...lose contact," _Marina informed. Pearl started adjusting the antenna they had on their equipment to try to improve it, but she caused more harm than not. They were just too far deep underground.

_Creeeak._

Eight stopped. Four bumped into her backside, and the Squid Sisters stopped arguing.

"What waa that?" Eight questioned. The vent began making more noise and it felt like it'd snap. Callie's eyes went wide-open as she realized their peril.

"WE'RE TOO HEAVY!" she screamed, before the airduct collapsed and the four dropped down with it. They landed on a rough surface, that was a grayish color along with the rest of the room. It was extremely dark, and hard to see.

"Alright, who's the one who ate at the Crust Bucket too many times?" Marie asked, not expecting any answer.

Four quickly jumped up, dualies in hand. She did a 360 scan of their surroundings, and, believing it was currenty safe, turned to help her agents up.

"Thank you, Agent 4," the Octoling said with a smile. Four gave a thumbs up in return

_"Yo, guys, what happened? What's the situation?" _Pearl questioned. Whatever she did to the antenna seemed to have worked in the end. Four tapped her headset piece and replied:

"The vents broke, but we're all fine. Now we're in some stupid dark room. I can't see anything!"

_"Don't worry about the lights, Four," _Marina chuckled. She began typing something on her laptop, her fingers moving from key to key without even trying. She hit the enter key and smiled.

A bright ceiling light turned on inside the dark room. It shone and illuminated a portion of it. Then a second light turned on, then a third, then a fourth, then finally the entire room was brightly lit. It was extremely tall, so tall it reminded Eight of when she was escaping from the Telephone.

There was a really tall structure in the middle of the room. It was a light gray cylinder, and it extended far upwards. There was something green at the top of it. Wait, green?

"Finally, some light," Four walked forwards, inspecting the room.

"I bet there's something at the top of this tower thing," Marie said, eyeing the structure.

"I can see— oh my cod!" Callie yelped, pointing at the top.

"Is that..." Agent 4 stammered, and Eight gasped.

At the top of the tower in the center, stood an _Inkling_. It was Agent 3. She had long front tentacles, which were colored an omininous green. She was wearing the Hero Suit; with its triangle-shaped headset, the yellow safety vest jacket, and black sneakers. A tattered cape flowed on her back. Her face was the most interesting part, however, as the right side was almost completely covered in a greenish goop. Her irises were a glowing green, and the goop pulsated oddly.

"AGENT THREE!" Callie shouted. Three turned around, staring down at the group of four. She then pulled out a Hero Shot, and jumped down the tower face-first.

"_What's going on? What happened?!"_ Marina asked, hearing the commotion going on.

"We found Agent 3—" Marie started. Agent 3 was performing a Splashdown! "EVERYONE RUN!"

Three slammed into the ground, sending an ink shockwave around her radius. Eight and Four scampered away while Callie and Marie dived. Three got up and looked at the four. Eight shuddered at the lifelessness in her eyes, and remembered the last time she fought Sanitized Agent 3. She had nearly died that time too.

Three aimed her Hero Shot and opened fire, covering her area in green ink, with a ridiculous fire rate. Even the agents' weapons were slower in comparison. Four tried to focus and gripped her Hero Dualies. She dodge-rolled to the left as a blob of green flew right into where she stood previously. Four fired back in retaliation.

Three tossed an autobomb at Four, and shifted her focus on Callie. The squid sister swung her roller, sending the magenta ink at Three. A few drops got on her tentacles,but Three made no reaction to it. Marie aimed through the scope on her charger, and fired a shot straight at Three. If she wanted a fight, that's what she'd get.

Agent 3 dodge-rolled to the side, something considered impossible since she was using a Hero Shot, not dualies. This surprised Callie momentarily, which Three used as an advantage. She got several successful hits on the inkling, and she yelped as her armor shattered. Marie jumped in and helped Callie move behind cover, next to some construction boxes.

"How the hell is Three so strong?!" Four shouted, as she tossed a splat bomb at Three's feet. Agent 3 grabbed the pyramid-shaped bomb and threw it back at Four. The short-tentacled Inkling yelped and ducked right before she was struck in the face by it.

Agent 8 jumped out of her own ink and fired a few shots at Three. The ink hit her skin, and stinged. Three threw an autobomb at Eight. The octoling gulped and desperately swam away to avoid the chasing bomb.

"_Stay clear of Agent 3! She almost took out Eight last time!_" Pearl instructed. She wish she could do more than just give blind advice, but the signal was way too low for anything other than light-switching and conversation.

The four agents regained their composure and began simaltaneously attacking Three. She quickly lost ground, and began dodge-rolling backwards. Her green tentacles suddenly began glowing and shaking, indicating that her special was charged.

"She's gonna use a special!" Callie warned, backing up immediately. A large backpack appeared on the agent's back, with two boosters on the left and right sides. A large metal hose was attached to it, and Three gripped it in her hands. She was suddenly propelled into the air when ink began shooting out of the backpack. She used Inkjet!

The agents ran separate ways as Three fired shots from the Inkjet, each one exploding like a blaster's shot. The cooldown between shots was a bit slow, however.

"Attack her between each shot!" Marie commanded.

"I'll distract her," Four decided. She ran near Three and yelled: "Hey, dumdum! Look at me! I'm gonna shoot ya!" It worked, and Three focused her attention on Agent 4, who began dodging her attacks. Callie, Marie and Eight went ham on Agent 3's back, covering it in ink. Suddenly, her armor shattered and she fell on the floor. The inkjet special ended. Before anyone could attack her further, she superjumped away to a tall platform nearby.

Four barely had time to refill her dangerously low ink tank, before several Tentamissiles went flying her way. Hell rained down on them as Three constantly fired more missiles.

"Two specials?! What the hell?" Marie swore, clearly not expecting this.

"_She removed the limiter on specials!" _Marina explained.

"_Run as fast as you can!"_ Cap'n Cuttlefish shouted through his microphone. Eight groaned as her legs already began aching from dashing so much. There was barely any friendly ink for her to swim to. She shot up a path and swam towards Callie, who was taking cover behind a wall panel.

"We can't get Agent 3! She's too high up!" Callie sighed. Only Marie had the range, but she was as good as dead if she tried charging an entire shot at Three.

Eight tapped the inkling's shoulder, and presented a splat bomb. "Last time, I used these, Callie."

Callie smiled, "Good thinking!" She tapped her headset and shouted: "Okay, listen up! Marie, you and Eight will toss Splat bombs at Three's platform. Four, you and I will clear a path for them!"

"Yes Ma'am!" Four responded. She dodged another missile and fired her ink into the green splotchs below the platform Three stood on. Callie swung her roller as well, and the two quickly made a path. It would definitely be blasted again if they didn't hurry.

Eight gulped and swam down the path. She emerged beside Marie, who nodded to Agent 8 before lobbing a Splat bomb towards Three. Eight copied and did the same. Soon, two blasts rang out, followed by the sound of an Inkling yelping. Callie noticed that Three's durable armor broke for a second time.

Three superjumped towards Eight's position. Four grabbed her arm and yanked her away right as Three did a Splashdown. Her tentacles bubbled and began glowing, and she pulled out a Bubble Blower. Several green bubbles filled the arena, several to the point of bursting. Her tentacles began glowing yet again, and this time Three began tossing an assortment of sub bombs everywhere. Splat bombs, burst bombs, autobombs and more flew everywhere.

"GET DOWN!!" Callie screamed as she dived into her own ink. The bombs all exploded, causing the green bubbles to burst. The entire arena was subsequently covered in green ink, save for a few splotches of magenta.

Agent 8 peeked out of her ink, and noticed that Three had her back facing her. Eight decided to use this to her advantage, and splat Three from behind. When she approached her, Three rolled to the side and tackled Eight.

Eight yelled as she struggled to get off of Three's grip, but Three was much stronger than the octoling. She stared into her green and glowing eyes, still void of any life or emotion. A charged shot of ink struck Three in the side, and an arm pulled Eight away.

"Get up an' moving, Eight!" Four shouted, handing the Octoshot back to the octoling girl.

Callie charged in and slammed Three with her roller, sending the inkling several feet backwards. She was covered in magenta ink. Her eyes were shut closed.

"Did- did we do it?" Four whispered.

"The goop is still there..." Marie noted. The four agents cautiously stepped closer, until Three's eyes tore open.

She superjumped away back to the platform, before firing a salvo of autobombs. She then superjumped towards the four, and quickly initiated a Splashdown.

"Run!!!" Four yelled at the top of her lungs, desperately fleeing from the attack. Three landed and superjumped again towards the group, and Splashdowned again. This repeated several times.

Eight was gasping for air. She didn't know how much longer she'd last.

"She's growing desperate!" Marie shouted. She charged a shot and aimed upwards at Three. She let go of the trigger the moment Three began a splashdown, nailing her face in the process.

Three fell down beside a Splat bomb Four had thrown down, and she was pummelled toward several wooden crates.

_CRASH!_ Three groaned as she struck the boxes, the impact breaking them. Three shook her head; she wasn't done just yet.

A canned special dropped down near Agent 8's feet. She smiled and grabbed it, immediately causing her tentacles to flare out and glow.

_"In Squiddington's name! A canned special!"_ Cuttlefish cheered. Eight's special was a Tentamissile. She instantly used it, and fired a salvo of missiles towards Three. Agent 3 quickly rolled left and right to avoid the incoming shots. She avoided most of them, but the ground Three stood on was completely magenta-covered. Her movement was vastly limited by the enemy turf. Three opened fire on Four, who quickly used her own special which had charged up; Ink armor. Her armor absorbed the shots, and distracting the sanitized agent long enough for Callie to attack.

"RAARGH!" Callie charged in and struck Three with her roller, sending the inkling several feet into the air. Marie smirked as she prepared a fully charged shot. She aimed her charger with pinpoint accuracy. Marie let go of the trigger and her weapon fired. A straight line of ink struck Three mid-air, sending the girl flying straight into several metal crates on the side of the room.

The fighting immediately stopped. Eight collapsed on the floor, her legs aching badly. Callie and Marie approached Three, while Four took a break next to Eight. She didn't look to be in good shape at all. The goop on her face had been knocked off. Callie took a jar out of her pocket and quickly threw the thing inside.

"You brougt a jar..?" Marie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You never know when it'll come in handy!" Callie exclaimed, eyeing the goo. It was starting to melt, and she hoped it posed no threat now. The two cousins turned and looked at Agent 3. Her tentacles had returned to their natural yellow-green color, and her eyes had gone back to being yellow-colored gold. Three was completely stiff, as if time had slowed down. She was badly bruised from all the fighting, and her skin had several cuts on it. There was a faint greenish imprint on her face and ear where the goop had been.

"Oh my cod..." Callie gasped quietly, "Di-did we kill her?!"

"No, no... I think she's breathing," Marie kneeled for a closer look. She was breathing, that was a relief, but she needed to get medical attention immediately.

"_You did it! I knew you'd make it!" _Marina celebrated from the other side.

"_Yeah! Now yippee-kiyay out of there, before anything else goes wrong." _Pearl joined in. She knew that that place was always up to no good.

Out of nowhere, a large rumbling erupted from within the compound. The floor shook, and some rubble fell from the ceiling.

"Something tells me we should get out of here," Four suggested, worriedly looking around the room.

"This is like when the domes lost power and collapsed..." Eight remarked. When Agent 3 or 4 took the Zapfish back from the Octarians, the domes had lost their main power supply, causing many to collapse and fail.

"Someone needs to lift Three up so we can haul her out of here." Marie explained, pointing to the unconscious agent.

Four cracked her knuckles before boasting, "I can do that, no biggie." Three wasn't much taller than she was. How hard could it be?

Four tried to lift Three up by the shoulders and immediately regretted her decision. Man, she was heavy! But she was also slim, how was this possible??

"E-eight, a little help here?" The octoling stood up in surprise, and she had been lost in her thoughts. She hoped Three would forgive her for attacking her. She skipped over to Four and lifted Three by her legs, both grunting as they held her in the air. It was uncomfortable, but it worked.

Another tremor shook the floor. The agents began dashing for the airduct. They were running out of time.

"Cap'n, this place is falling apart!" Callie gushed through her headset.

"_Run to the train! Get out of there!"_ he yelled.

The airduct had fallen, but it formed a slope, allowing them to crawl back up. Hauling Three was tough, but they eventually managed to do it.

They crawled through the tight vent, dragging Agent 3 along. They could hear the place falling apart behind them. Suddenly, Four shot out of the airduct, and was back in the station. She sighed in relief and stretched her cramped limbs.

"Let's get back to the train," she repeated, and helped the rest of the agents out of the vent shaft. The four (and the unconscious Three) made their way towards the train when finally the hallway they were in caved in and became complerely unaccessible.

"We.. we did it! We saved Three and escaped!" Callie cheered. Four raised her hands in the air and yelled: "WHOOO!" Marie gave Eight a high-five. The octoling had learned what a 'high-five' was thanks to Pear, but she still found it to be strange.

"_Yeah! You showed them who's boss!" _Pearl shouted.

_"You can return here, now," _Cuttlefish added. The agents entered the train, and were greeted by Eight's two friends.

"Welcome aboard. It looks like this station will be inaccessible for the time being." C.Q. Cumber noted.

Four and Eight laid the knocked-out Three on an empty seat, and then Eight sat down beside her on the little space that remained. She observed the sleeping agent's features, and how calmly she slept.

"Ugh, I need a shower after this," Marie complained. She lazily sat on a seat and relaxed her body. Callie pulled out a first-aid kit that was on the train and began tending to Agent 3. She was bruised and cut on several locations, but nothing too serious past that.

"Three needs a shower more than you do. Did you see how dirty her apartment was?" Four retorted, a little impressed and disgusted at the same time.

"We should help clean that up!" Callie suggested. Four and Marie groaned at the sound of manual labor. Callie turned to Agent 8.

"You haven't said much for a while, Eight. Something up?"

"Huh? Uhh... I am just thinking about my past battles with Three..." she said, looking down.

"Battles? How many times _have_ you fought her?"

"First, when I was trying to escape DJ Octavio. Cuttlefish and Three thought I was still an enemy, until we were all captured by Kamabo. The second time was when she was mind-controlled, and third was just now." The octoling explained.

"Wow... At this point you've fought enough to be called rivals." Callie stated. Eight shook her head.

"What? No... she saved my life, and she's my friend." Callie nodded inacknowledgment and sat back down on her seat.

The train finally arrived back at Inkopolis Station, signaled by an announcement made by C.Q. Cumber. The agents departed and headed back to Octo Canyon.

Three grumbled as she stirred from her long nap. Her eyelids drooped open as she became conscious. She was in a dimly-lit environment, and voices could be heard coming from not too far away. They were too muffled for her to recognize anyone, however. Three turned on her side, her body laying on what seemed to be a mattress.

Her eyes went wide open as she unexpectedly noticed two pairs of eyes staring at her.

"She's awake!" one voice said. Three noticed it belonged to Agent 4.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" Callie exclaimed.

Three leaned upwards and rubbed her back tentacles, her eyes regaining focus on her surroundings. "Wh.. what happened? Where are we?"

"We're at the Cuttlefish cabin in Octo Canyon, Four explained, "It's a long story." Four and Callie began explaining the course of the entire day to Three, who's expression shifted from surprised to guilty.

Eight ran over and bear hugged the agent, squealing with excitement: "Three! I am so glad you are okay!"

"Hey.. Eight. I'm sorry about, y'know, attacking you guys n' stuff..."

"It was not your fault, Three."

"Don't swear it, Three! We already know it was that goopey thing on your face." Agent 4 reassured. Three felt the right side of her face.

"Right... So, any clues why this whole thing happened?"

"Uhmm.. the Cap'n said we hit a dead end, so we can take a break for now." Four replied. The agents couldn't find any more information about Three's kidnapping or Kamabo in general after the place collapsed. They would just have to wait, for now.

Four chuckled. "Oh yeah, Three! Your apartment is _soooo _messy!"

"YOU WENT IN MY APARTMENT?!!"


	3. Festival Chaos - I

Three, Four, and Eight were sitting in Inkopolis Square, on a bench together. Eight had finally been introduced to this strange Inkling food known as 'ice cream'. She was wearing a casual outfit Marina had gifted to her, so she didn't have to wear her Octo gear everywhere. The speakers on the Lobby tower were booming with music, and the Square was packed with Inklings, and even a few Octolings.

Eight took a lick of hers, which was vanilla-flavored, then shook as her brain froze. _Ow ow ow ow... it's so cold! ...but so delicious!_

"Heheh, Eight, you need to eat slower!" Four mused, "You gave yoursef a brain freeze!" She wore her Hero Suit, with the exception of the headset. Four turned to her two-scoop chocolate strawberry icecream and continued eating it.

Three stared down at her own ice cream, watching it slowly melt and drop onto the concrete floor. She sighed.

"Hey, what's got you bummed out, Three?" Four asked, turning to the long-tentacled Inkling, "I hope it's not the ice cream, it's waayyyy too good!"

"I'm fine." she replied, rubbing the turquoise mark on her face, "Just thinking about yesterday, I guess." Three had recovered quickly from the fight they had yesterday, but she felt a little sore. She looked down at the floor, slightly guilty.

"Aww, Three, it wasn't your fault!" Four reassured. Eight nodded in agreement.

"Yes, we know you were under mind control!" she added, hugging Three in order to make her feel better. Three's face flustered.

"Okay, okay, let's not get too sappy here guys," Agent 3 insisted.

"C'mon Three, cheer up girl!" Four giggled, "You should be happy, 'cuz we saved you from that metro place!" Three rolled her eyes.

"Ooh! We should try to make Three happier, by going around the city with her!" Eight happily suggested.

"That's an awesome idea! We can help you finally visit the rest of Inkopolis too, Eight!" Four decided. The octoling hadn't gotten a chance to fully tour Inkopolis, and she reckoned that this was a perfect time to do so.

Agent 3 didn't say anything, but nodded her head slowly. It was a better plan than sitting still, she supposed.

The three started out in Inkopolis Square itself. Four pointed to the storefronts and said, "This is the Galleria! You can buy clothes, shoes, headgear and weapons! It's super fresh and sweet."

"And the store owners are selfish pricks too," Three retorted. Four gave her a glare.

"Why is that?" Eight asked, tilting her head.

"They only listen to you if you're fresh enough for them, and even then they act extremely snobbish."

Eight had been hearing that a lot, lately, and she still had no idea what it could mean. She decided now was the time to ask. "Um... what does _fresh_ mean?"

Four's head jerked back a little in shock. "You don't know what being fresh is?"

"They don't have that in Octarian society, Four," Three explained. She turned to Eight.

"Basically, it's your level in Turf Wars, and the type of gear you use. So if you're using something that's more popular than the rest, you become fresher. To be able to shop at all you have to reach a specific level-" Three started.

"Level four!" Agent 4 interjected.

"Right. So newbies have to use the starter gear until they reach that level." Eight nodded her head in acknoledgment, trying to quickly absorb all that information. Octarian propaganda was right in one thing; Inklings love to show off and comptete over materialistic things like fashion and "freshness".

"So I can't even enter the shop?" the octoling asked, looking towards one of the store's open doors.

"There's no point in going in, yeah," Three repeated. Eight stared at the window display and the clothes inside.

"Wow, Inkling fashion is so amazing!" she marveled, "Way better than what we had back home..."

"Say, what DID you have back home, Eight?" Four questioned.

"Well... just strict uniforms and armor, we couldn'texpress creativity at all," she replied, raising her head.

"Let's move on now," Three commanded, stepping closer to the lobby.

"That's Grizzco, but you don't need to worry about it yet." Three explained, pointing to the corner it sat on. Eight shuddered a little, that place gave her creepy vibes for some reason.

"This is the Lobby, the place where everyone gets to play Turf Wars!" Four said, practically dragging Eight there by grabbing her hand.

"I heard so much about this turf war! It's the center of Inkling society, right?" Agent 8 questioned.

"Yep, pretty much!" Four answered, causing the octoling to smile. She was starting to feel more comfortable living in Inkopolis.

"We should probably get her registered so she can join matches and stuff," Three said, heading over to the Lobby's help desk.

"How can I help you?" spoke a female inkling, standing on the other side of the desk. She had two long front-tentacles, like Three, colored blue. She had a bored look on her face, and was staring at a computer screen infront of her.

"Yeah, my friend wants to get registered," she explained. Four gently nudged Eight closer to the counter, who was looking shyly at the floor. She muttered a weak "hello".

"Okay," the inkling sighed. She glanced at Eight and typed something on her computer, "Username?"

"Uhh, what's a 'username'?" Eight said lightly, her eyes shifting to her friends.

"It's the name you fight under, it can be your name or whatever you want." Three explained. Eight nodded and looked back to the desk.

"Umm, Eight, please."

"Do you want it spelt fully or just the numeral?" the woman asked, already getting tired of the octoling's antics.

"Spelt out..." she repeated. The female typed on her computer again, and handed out a card to Eight. It was an official turf war ID, with her name and stats on it. She was, of course, level one.

"We can show you turf war later, I guess," Three told Eight, as the agents walked out of the Lobby.

Eight glanced towards the right side of the Square, and squealed when she noticed two familiar faces. Pearl and Marina! The two were in their studio, chatting amongst themseves. She was about to run over and plant her face on the glass when Four had to grab her by the collar.

"Hold on there, Eight! They're probably busy with work right now."

"Yeah, and those two get _real mad_ when they're interrupted," Three added. Eight pouted but nodded.

Inside the studio, Pearl fumbled with a blender she found. "Hey Marina, what if we made a smoothie out of bananas and chocolate?"

"Uh, I'm good, Pearlie."

The agents finished up showing Eight the Square, and headed towards another part of Inkopolis; Squid Park. Squid Park was the city's largest and widest public park, and it was always filled with squids and kids alike. It even had a small skating area too.

"Wow! It's so open and beautiful here!" Eight exclaimed, passing by a large statue of some old Inkling from the Great Turf War.

"You can say that again!" Four mused. The park was one of her favorite spaces to just chill at. "What about you, Three, are ya feelin' better yet?"

"Actually, yeah. It's good to get some fresher air sometimes," Three smiled.

The agents noticed a abundance of people up ahead, and their noises grew louder. The three hurried forward to check out what was going on. Several tents and colorful flags were spread out around a large portion of the park. Inklings walked around with popcorn, food and toys. A large sign at the front displayed out a name.

"Park... festival?" Four read, scratching her head. This was something new.

"Ooohhhh! Can we go, can we go?" Eight pleaded. She gave her best puppy eyes. The noises and smells just were so appetizing!

"Alright, sure!" Four piped up, "I love carnival games!"

"Eh, I guess," Three replied, rolling her yellow eyes.

Entering the festival, the trio had to briefly stop as a group of Inkling children bolted past them, laughing together. Corny carnival music was playing from speakers scattered around the area, and various people walked around, checking out each tent and activity. Four and Eight went to every single thing that they could, and gobbled down as much food as possible. Three mostly watched without saying a word, believing that she was too mature for this childish stuff.

That thought faded as the group approached a specific tent, a large wooden sign ontop saying: "Shoot the Targets". Now this was her cup of tea!

"One try costs 5," a male Inkling-who was in charge of the stand-explained as he saw the agent approaching. She handed him the cash and grabbed the miniature N-Zap replica on the table. The inkling pushed a switch and several small targets, about twenty, sprang to life. They began turning and twisting at a rapid pace. "Hit all of them in 30 seconds and you get a prize."

Three smirked before firing her weapon at each target, hitting them with pinpoint accuracy. In twelve seconds, she was finished. The male inkling's jaw was wide open.

"Yeah!!! Congrats Three!" Eight cheered, giving her an enthusiastic high-five. Four crossed her arms.

"I can do just as good as her... hmph!"

"Ah, it was easy stuff, really," Three smiled. The inkling reached over and handed a prize to Agent 3. Her smile disappeared as she took a look at her reward.

"A... rainbow slinky?" Three lamely played with it for two seconds before handing it to Eight. The octoling was completely amused by it, moving the toy up and down and up and down.

"Hey, I'm starting to get hungry. I think I'm gonna get a bite to eat," Three stated.

"Get something for me too! I'm starved!" Four added. Three shot her a quick _you sure about that? _glance, wondering how she could be even remotely hungry after eating an obscene amount of salty and sugary treats in a single day.

Nevermind that, she decided, and headed towards the food shack. Four and Eight made their way towards another carnival game tent. This time, it was a basketball game. Eight didn't know what 'basketball' was, but Four dumbed it down for her.

"Just throw the ball into that hoop there," Four explained, showing an example to her octo friend. Eight nodded and glanced towards the prize section, staring at a plushie of a green squid. She wanted it so badly!!! It looked so cute and squishable. It also reminded her of an old plush that her mother gave her, back in her infancy. The memories were hazy, and she couldn't see her mom's face. Maybe she should search for more mem cakes?

"C'mon, Eight! I know you can do it!" Four encouraged the girl as she held the basketball. Eight mimicked Four'sinstructions and the ball swooshed right in. If she could repeat that twice more the plush would be hers!

"Okay, Eight, you got this," she whispered to herself, grabbing the ball once more as it rolled back towards here. _Swoosh!_ Another successful shot. Time slowed down as she took the final shot. The ball swirled around the hoop as Eight silently begged for it to fall in. The ball titled away before finally going through the hoop.

"YES!" Eight shouted, pointing a finger at the green plushie. The inkling manning the stand handed it to her, raising an eyebrow at why someone her age would be so fanatical about a plush toy.

"Nice job, Eight! I didn't know you already were so good at basketball!"

"Eheh... I never really played any of these 'sports' stuff before," she replied, hugging her new prize. Four would have to show her more techniques later. Eight felt a light tap on her arm, and turned to face the newcomer. It was a small Inkling child, still in their pre-humanoid form, clearly being below the age of fourteen.

"Hi miss, I like that plush you got. Can I see it?" she kindly asked.

"Sure, you can have a look, I guess," Eight responded. She saw no harm in letting this little one take a look at her new prize. She handed the small inkling the green squid and smiled as she happily felt the soft texture and turned it around and around. Then she added:

"Thanks for giving me a new toy, miss!"

Eight opened her eyes, "But I—". She stopped as the inkling child sprinted away, her plushie in tow. Eight gasped and yelped as Four grabbed her hand and ran towards the girl.

"GET BACK HERE!" Four demanded. The child turned around and stuck her tongue out at the two agents. She exited the festival and ran towards an open field. Four got closer and closer until she suddenly skid to a halt. Eight bumped into her back, quickly glancing her head to the side.

The girl ran behind an inkling male, who looked to be around eighteen years old. He was wearing a dark leather jacket with a pair of matching heavy boots. His blue tentacles were in the 'Slick' hairstyle. He turned around and faced the two agents, a sly grin on his tan face.

"Is there a problem here, sis?" He asked, looking towards the smaller inkling child, who was apparently his sister.

"They tried to steal my plushie toy!" she cried, putting on a look of helplessness. Eight gasped and Four grimaced.

"What? No way, dude! We won that thing fair and square, she's the one who nabbed it from us and took off!" Four protested, jabbing a finger towards the girl.

"I just want my squid plush back..." Eight said, trailing off.

"I'm sorry, ladies, but I can't trust you. Now if you'll excuse us, we have to make our leave now." The inkling replied, beginning to leave.

"Hey!" Four yelled, approaching him, "Either we leave with that toy or no one's getting it!" Her attempts to scare him failed as he simply laughed.

"I don't think you'll want to do that," he coldly replied.

"Alright, that's it! C'mon Eight, we're gonna get your toy back!" Eight nervously nodded as Four dashed to the male inkling, ready to pounce him. The child inkling hissed and leaped at Four, biting her arm, hard.

"AAUGH! What the squid?!" she yelped, jumping backwards and throwing the furious kid off. She looked at the mark on her arm. A little bit of ink was already dripping out. Four was about to react when a blur jumped out of nowhere and grabbed the male inkling by the collar.

"Give it back, or else." Four and Eight's eyes widened when they realized who had arrived. It was Agent Three!

"Three!" Eight yelled. Hopefully now the three of them could put a stop to this madness.

"You can't make me," he replied, managing to escape her grip. This only pissed off Three even more.

"Give. It. Back. Now." she muttered, rage beginning to fill her being. The inkling took a few steps back, looking a bit nervous. He shook his head and regained his composure, flashing a smirk to the agents. He put two fingers in his mouth and blew, whistling loudly. Out of the blue, three figures jumped out of the bushes, much like Three had, and surrounded the trio. This time, however, they were wielding weapons.

Two males and one female, Three noted to herself. They were wearing similar attire and were all had blue as their ink color. One of the males walked towards what was presumably their leader and handed him a gold dynamo roller.

"I gave you several chances to just back off, even more than I should've, but you all ignored my offers," he stated, laughing to himself. "Name's Carlos, leader of the Raid Brigade. We're one of the best Turf War and Ranked teams out there." He paused for a moment, before continuing, "Not like you scrubs would know."

Three grimaced, her hands curling into fists. Four shared her resentment for this band of Inklings, and Eight worried about their own safety. They'd get splatted in mere seconds!

"You all seem like tough cookies, so I'll offer you a deal. Tomorrow, at The Reef, we have a Turf battle. If we lose, you get the toy my little sister wants," Carlos suggested.

"And if we lose?" Three replied, giving him a dirty glare.

"My sis gets the plushie, and... you can never participate i any Turf Wars ever again."

"WHAT?!" Four yelled, "What kind of deal is that?! It doesn't even add up!"

"Yeah, no way we're gonna agree to that shit," Three added, folding her arms.

"If you don't accept it, we'll splat you on the spot, right here," Carlos snapped back, reaiming his weapon.

"We'll just respawn, you idiot," Agent 3 replied, brushing her long tentacle out of her face. Carlos and his group laughed.

"There isn't any respawn point nearby, and the world be will with three less idiots," he responded, "So, deal, or no deal?" The three agents glanced at each other, and started whispering.

"_We don't have any way to fight them, even if we tried to brawl it out,"_ Four noted.

"_I hate to say it, but you're right,"_ Three added, "_They can splat us right here and now."_

"_We can do this, we've been through worse,"_ Eight encouraged. Her life had been threatened various times already, but she still felt hopelessly nervous. Could they really pull off a three-versus-four battle?

"Okay," Eight spoke, facing Carlos, "we accept your deal."


End file.
